Low Free Storage Space Causing BlackBerry OS 10.3.1 Update Issues?

It's been just over 24 hours since BlackBerry started pushing out 10.3.1 to devices worldwide, and as with any software update there is a few hiccups that are bound to happen. One issue that seems to be effective several users is an error message advising them of a lack of internal device memory required to download the necessary update.

Luckily, BlackBerry has acknowledged the issue in the BlackBerry Knowledge Base and we've shared some tips and tricks below on how to eliminate the problem.

Cause:

There is currently not enough free space (internal device memory) on the smartphone to install the update successfully. The BlackBerry 10 OS requires 2.5 times the downloaded package size, for example, an update package of 1GB will require a total of 2.5GB's free space to download and install successfully.

Resolution

Option 1Complete one of the following options and related steps to resolve the issue:

To continue with an Over The Air Software (OTA) Update, remove data (applications and media) from the BlackBerry smartphone's internal memory until there is enough free space by following the actions below. The software update message will show exactly how much space is required to be freed up, for example:

"Please free up additional 401 MB of space to continue with this update."

"You can move files to your media card or remove applications that you don't use."

Help in determining what to move or delete:

First, review the data and amount of storage space being consumed by installed applications or games, and each media type. You can then choose to either move data out of internal memory to the SD card, or delete applications or games.

Open Settings and then select App Manager and then Device Monitor. Within this application select Storage. After a few seconds this will display how much memory each application or game has consumed, as well as how much media has been added to the device; the media is broken down into pictures, music, and videos, each grouped on their own. This view shows only the internal memory consumption and does not display media or data saved to the SD card. After reviewing how much memory is being used by applications or games, and media, a decision can be made to either move data or delete applications by following any of the actions below.

Move data from internal memory to the SD card. If a SD card has been inserted into the BlackBerry Smartphone the File Manager application can be used to move the data from internal device memory to the SD card storage.

Open the File Manager application from the BlackBerry home screen.

Select the files and/or folders you would like to move by touching the item (select Select More to move multiple items at once).

Select Move from the menu the appears on the left.

Navigate to the SD card and to the location you would like the items moved to.

Select Move.

Deleting Applications in Device Monitor:

Note: Deleting an application will remove all application data, for example: high scores, game progress, app settings, etc..

If data is unable to be moved out of internal memory another option is to delete applications. You can choose which applications to delete in order to free up the required space by reviewing their size within Device Monitor. To delete an application while in the Device Monitor application:

Open Settings and then select App Manager and then Device Monitor. Within this application select Storage. Note: This step is not required if you are already in Storage.

Choose the application.

Select Delete.

Deleting Applications in Device Monitor:

Touch and hold the application.

Once the application on the screen begins to pulse, tap the trash bin icon next to the application and then select Delete.

Let us know in the comments below if these steps help you alleviate the problem on your device.